Monday, September 24, 2012

Riley County Commission September 24, 2012

The
Commission is in the process of meeting with Manhattan Public Library personnel
about moving the County Law Library into the public library.

Plans tentatively
were made to hold a ceremony to celebrate the naming of the Law Enforcement
Center in honor of Alvan Johnson sometime during the first week of December.

A motion to
pay for acquisition of property in Fairmont Park out of CIP funds was approved.

Commissioner
McCulloh expressed concerns about potential cuts in funding for community
corrections programs. She said without community corrections alternatives more
people are likely to beincarcerated and kept so for longer
periods.She asked that the issue be
placed on the agenda for Thursday’s meeting.

County
Counselor Clancy Holeman announced an agreement has been reached with the
Indigent Defense Panel to accept a cola increase in compensation this coming
year.A conference will be held with
local legislators on December 6, at noon, in the Commission chambers.Of major concern is last year’s passage of
legislation allowing individuals to restrict access to their personal
information in public records.

Tim Hegarty,
with the Riley County Police Department, said the Department’s twitter account
has more than 2000 followers.This is a
higher percentage than that of law enforcement offices in Wichita and Kansas City.He says, through twitter, the RCPD is able to
reach out to a population it needs to have positive relations with.Crimes have been solved through twitter contacts.Crime Stoppers also has been effective.Through it persons may report crime
information by phoning, sending emails or texting.When appropriate, police have been closing
off Moro for about one half hour around 1:00 a.m. The action is taken to avoid
accidents after people have been drinking heavily.

Apparently the
ballot for this November’s general election will include a Constitutional
amendment question involving the taxation of watercraft in Kansas.Currently watercraft are valued and taxed as
personal property.The ballot question
asks voters to choose whether or not to allow the Kansas Legislature the option
of changing this.The ballot question
does not prescribe any particular or specific changes to the current ad valorem
method of property taxes for watercraft.Any potential changes would have to be enacted by the Legislature if the
constitutional measure passes.A similar
ballot question failed narrowly in the 2000 general election.The wording of the question will be lengthy
and is expected to be very confusing to voters.

Jerry Haug,
with the Kansas Department of Transportation, said there will be lots of
changes in traffic on Highway 18 over the next several months.Airport access will be worked on.He warns drivers to be very careful and watch
the signs.The estimated completion date
for the entire project is fall of 2013.

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